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What Angels Fear: Sebastian St. Cyr, Book 1

It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man - Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.

Some Danger Involved: Barker & Llewelyn Series, Book 1

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No Graves As Yet: A World War One Novel #1

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Lulu says:"A Slow Introduction to the Great War"

Publisher's Summary

In this superbly accomplished new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt adventure, Anne Perry takes us beneath the glittering surface of wealthy Victorian society into a nightmare world of fear and intimidation, where women are too often blamed for the violent attacks against them, and powerful men take what they want, leaving others to pay the price.

The horrifying rape and apparent suicide of Catherine Quixwood, wife of a wealthy merchant banker, falls outside the new jurisdiction of Special Branch head Thomas Pitt, but so pervasively offensive are the rumors about the victim that Pitt quietly takes a hand in the investigation.

Yet even with the help of his ingenious wife, Charlotte, and his former superior, Victor Narraway, Pitt is stumped. Why did high-minded, cultured Catherine choose not to accompany her husband to a grand party on the night of her demise? Why did she dismiss all her servants for the evening and leave the front door unlocked? What had been her relationship with the young man seen frequently by her side at concerts and art exhibits? And what can be done to avenge another terrible crime: the assault on Angeles Castelbranco, beloved teenage daughter of the Portuguese ambassador?

"Midnight at Marble Arch" continues the improvement to the Pitt/Charlotte series which began in "Dorchester Terrace," in which the stories involving Pitt's career with Special Branch finally matched the quality of the novels concerning Pitt as a policeman. I think what made this book so enjoyable for me was the fact that Pitt's involvement in a series of crimes was not primarily in his role as Commander of Special Branch. Instead, he participated in the investigation clandestinely, outside of Special Branch. And the best thing about this book, for me, was that the crime was solved by the team of Pitt, Charlotte, Pitt's former boss Narraway (now Lord Narraway), and my favorite Perry character, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould.

Perry once again offers an intricate plot, involving several quite vicious rapes which may or may not be connected. The investigating characters spend a great deal of time and effort trying to figure out who, how, when and why, with the answers coming at the eleventh hour. But, as with most Perry novels, the ending is a just one even if not the happiest one. And I must say that the ending of the crime story involves one of Perry's best scenes of violent suspense.

My favorite characteristic of the Pitt/Charlotte books is the very well-researched and presented depiction of the place of upper-class women in the Victorian culture of England, and the restrictions and responsibilities placed upon them. In Midnight at Marble Arch, it is made quite clear that being raped may be the end of a Victorian woman's reputation and marriage prospects in life, so that even more than today women (or their fathers or husbands, who had all the power) refused to report such crimes and those women then had to try to live a normal life while hiding the terrific trauma of rape. They often could not live with it and committed suicide.

The final lovely development in the book is that Lady Vespasia and Lord Narraway are beginning to be quite fond of each other, and a loving relationship seems to be in offing.

The book could have been better if there was less narrative about the consequences of rape (how would I feel if my wife, my daughter, my sister-in-law, my elderly friend was raped?... how would the violated woman feel?... how can I ensure my son won't become a rapist?... how would society treat the raped woman and her husband?... and on, and on, and on). The book is 6.5 hours long, and most of it was devoted to a discussion of the above. There was almost no detection happening and certainly no action (until the very last scene).

Has Midnight at Marble Arch turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. I will continue to read books by this author. Several of Ms. Perry's recent books have been filled with suspense, detection, and action, so I'm not giving up on her.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The pace was fine. Ms. Porter's narration has been better, though. I felt that the character voices tended to merge a bit. In previous books, she did a better job of keeping the characters distinct.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Midnight at Marble Arch?

This is one of Anne Perry's best Pitt novels although the real start is Inspector Narroway. I have always like him and was sorry he was removed from Special Branch.

The story is about solving the slaying and rapes of prominent and not-so proiminent women in London. Special Branch gets involved as one of the women is the daughter of the Portunguese Ambassador. But it is Narraway with the aid of Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould who do a lot of the dectective work All in all this is a great book in the series.

It is one of the best she has written in the Pitt series in quite awhile and I hope we see more of Narraway and Lady Vespasia in coming books.

Davina Porter is certainly one of the best narrators there and she is superb in her reading of this book.

Where does Midnight at Marble Arch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Lower middle. This wasn't the best Pitt story but it was still well done.

What did you like best about this story?

Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould and Victor Narraway's budding romance. We shall see what happens with them in the future.

What about Davina Porter’s performance did you like?

She did a wonderful job on both male and female voices. I thought she was very good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Rape is rape.

Any additional comments?

This was not the best in the series and I think perhaps the author might think about retiring this one. When the children are becoming teenagers, it's time to go. I missed some of my favorite characters from this one. Sister Emily was barely in it, and no Gracie at all. The new girl is not so much fun.

I've listened to all of the Anne Perry books: Pitt and Monk. This is one of her best.

The tale is gripping. I couldn't stop listening. I did suspect some sort of the end, but kept changing as the facts presented themselves. In the end, I knew who, but not how or why, or even all the culprits! Marvelous twists that blew me away. I don't know how Ms Perry keeps coming up with such interesting and diabolical plots.. but I sure hope she doesn't stop!Caution: This book deals with rape, as well as murder.. it isn't overly graphic though and treats the subject matter tactfully and carefully.

As always, Ms Porter is the best narrator for these books. She is so easy to follow and keeps the characters straight. I never have to guess who is speaking.

Would you consider the audio edition of Midnight at Marble Arch to be better than the print version?

I don't know. I think I would have enjoyed the print version but I have no regrets at choosing the audiobook.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Midnight at Marble Arch?

I liked the interactions of the Pitt family--Thomas, Charlotte, Jemima and Daniel.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked many scenes. I enjoyed Pitt's and Narroway's separate investigations, getting to see the inner workings of Victorian households. I also enjoyed the courtroom scenes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to it in two days. I was intrigued and wanted to know how it would end.

Any additional comments?

Davina Porter was a good narrator for this material. I have one fault to find with Anne Perry's style. The inner monologues of the characters go on for way too long. It was also a bit difficult listening to a book about rape. However, I enjoy the series and read all the books.